Nashville Film Festival Taking Submissions for 2010

Gearing up for 41st year..

Nashville Film Festival (NaFF), an Academy Award qualifier for short films and a showcase on the festival circuit for renowned World and U.S. premieres, is currently accepting entries for the 2010 edition of the Festival, scheduled for April 16-23, 2010 at the Regal Green Hills Cinemas.  

NaFF, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009 with record attendance, offers a unique combination of big city film festival atmosphere and laid back Southern hospitality. NaFF guests in 2009 included William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Al Gore, Vincent D’Onofrio, Craig Brewer, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Gale Anne Hurd, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray McKinnon, Les Blank, Claudia Weill, Walton Goggins, Ben Folds, Sheryl Crow, LeeAnn Womack, Dominique Swain, Tricia O’Kelley, Debra Martin Chase, and Brian O’Halloran.   

Filmmakers have to opportunity to compete in close to a dozen categories. Feature film categories include the Narrative Competition, Documentary Competition, Discovery Competition (for first-time feature filmmakers), Music Films / Music City Competition and the Tennessee Spirit Award Competition. Short film categories include Narrative Short Competition (Academy Award qualifier), Animated Short Competition (Academy Award qualifier), Documentary Short Competition, Experimental Short Competition, Golden Opportunity Competition (for Best College Filmmaker), and Young Filmmakers’ Showcase (for filmmakers under 18). There are also several opportunities for special presentations.  

Early bird deadline is July 15, 2009 and regular deadline is October 15, 2009. For a complete list of deadlines and fees and an entry form, please visit nashvillefilmfestival.org. Filmmakers can also submit via withoutabox.com and enjoy an exclusive extended deadline and a $5 discount off their entry fees.  

About Nashville Film Festival 

The longest-running film festival in the South, NaFF also ranks among the most prestigious, continually garnering accolades and notice from a wide range of entertainment and trade publications, including the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal online, MovieMaker Magazine, Film Festival Today, IndieWire, Variety, Billboard, New York and Script Magazine. Between 2003 and 2009, NaFF’s attendance numbers doubled, capped off with a staggering 26% increase in festival goers between 2006 and 2007. In 2009, nearly 23,000 film lovers, entertainment professionals and industry insiders from all over the world made the trek to NaFF, enjoying 258 films from 48 countries, incisive industry panels, music showcases and spirited party mixers. Among the diverse group of celebrities who have attended NaFF in the past either as film presenters, award recipients or film fans are William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Vincent D’Onofrio, William H. Macy, Vincent D’Onofrio, Patricia Neal, Rob Thomas, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray McKinnon, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Walton Goggins, Craig Brewer, Harmony Korine, Al Gore, Nicole Kidman, Kiefer Sutherland, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Patrick Swayze, Rick Schroder, John Waters, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Redford, Harry Belafonte, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Moore, Kevin Smith, Barbara Kopple, and D.A. Pennebaker.

Nashville Film Festival is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and receives funding from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, The H. Franklin Brooks Philanthropic Fund, William N. Rollins Fund for the Arts of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, The Frist Foundation, The Memorial Foundation, Nashville Metro Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Ragsdale Family Foundation, Target Stores, Tennessee Arts Commission, and its generous patrons and sponsors.